Dreaming
by Akai Shiroi
Summary: She wished. She dreamt and hoped and prayed, and finally got her wish.  Not yaoi.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi! This is my first OC fanfic that I've posted on FF, so please don't judge too harshly. DX  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.**

**

* * *

**

Michelle sighed upon stepping off of her school bus. "Another boring day..." she said, adjusting her backpack and being rewarded by a sharp pain on either side.

She really hated her school – she was more intelligent than most of the people in her high school, and completely uninterested in the things they liked. The things that she did like normally had some sort of connection to anime – something not well liked in her school. She didn't know of anyone in her school - or any of her classes - that enjoyed it, actually. So she looked forward to an escape every time she got home.

The first thing she did when she got home was to throw her backpack in her room and finish what was left of her homework (she did some of it at school so she would have less do at home). The next, and more important, thing was to flip her computer open and begin surfing the Internet. It was her only escape – there was nothing that made her happier than being in her own little world. But, as with everything, there was a flaw.

It was fake.

It may have kept her entertained, but she knew that everything she was enjoying so much – watching anime and commenting on how good-looking the men were – were just fake things drawn up by a stranger in a different country, that she would probably never meet to tell how much she loved his works.

So every night, when she closed the computer and turned off her light, she crawled into bed hoping that, one day, she'd meet someone that was anything like an anime character, hoping that her life would be a bit more interesting, or she'd wish that somehow, _she _could be a part of an anime as well. She'd be eternally young and go on plenty of fun adventures - it was a win-win!

She knew, though, that it was impossible for her to be transported into a television show, in any shape or form, so she vowed to make do with dreams. Dreaming was as close as she could get.

However, as the inner workings of her mind decided to show their true potential, her impossible wish became possible – and true.


	2. Discoveries

**A/N: Yay, new chapter! Personally, I like this story so far. ^_^ Hopefully, Michelle will prove to be a decent character, and not too Mary-Sue.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

"Talking."

_Thinking._

* * *

What was going on?

Michelle was certain that, when she'd fallen asleep that night, she had been, well, herself.

She'd fallen asleep with her waist-length, chocolaty brown hair sprawled out on her bed, and she'd rubbed her emerald green eyes with her tan fingers before closing them and falling into the land of dreams. She'd had her usual dream – she frolicked around in a field of lilacs, laughing and cheering, and right as she went to lay down in the field, the world collapsed around her and she woke up. Normally, she would think nothing of it and merely roll over to go back to sleep, but now, as she brought a hand up to scratch her face, she noticed that her hand was extremely pale, compared to the caramel color it had been before.

In her groggy stupor, Michelle groaned and ignored it, blaming it on the brightness of the sun, and rolled over on her now sheet-covered mattress.

Wait, what?

Once she'd forced herself to sit up, she realized that her mattress – which had been bare the previous night, save for the blanket – was now covered with a clean, white sheet. She was mildly suspicious, so she stood to investigate. _Maybe Mom put it on while I was sleeping and I didn't notice, _she thought. _But, then, where's my blanket?_ She walked around the bed, looking for the handmade blanket, but it was nowhere in sight. In its place was a white comforter. As she looked, she realized that the bed frame looked completely unfamiliar to her, as well – her bed frame was old and worn, with little nicks and even some words etched into it, while this one was clean and new, without a scratch. Michelle began to feel panicked. Where was she? Had she been kidnapped, and by whom?

_Calm down, Michelle. _she told herself. _I'll wash my face, and then I'll go look around._

After a bit of searching, she found the bathroom and pushed the tall door open, with a bit of a struggle. Everything seemed bigger than her here.

After closing the door, she wandered over to the sink and attempted to turn the faucet on, but could not reach. Scowling, she struggled onto the counter and turned the water on. She continually splashed water onto her face, in an attempt to make herself more awake, and more alert. Once Michelle decided that she was as alert as possible, she turned the water off, and lifted her head to look in the mirror. When she did, she gave a small gasp.

Her appearance had totally changed.

Michelle moved, cautiously, to touch the mirror. _Is...is that really me...?_ she wondered. Her hair had gone from being brown and waist-length to being black and shoulder-length. She also had a small strand of hair protruding from the top of her head, something that she found extremely unappealing. Her emerald-colored eyes had turned a deep shade of purple, which she hadn't realized was possible. Her skin was pale, as if she hadn't been outside enough, or as if she'd become anemic. The one thing that was the most noticeable to her, however, was the childish gleam in her eye. She looked as if she'd gone from being eighteen to being eight.

_What the hell? _she thought. _This_-_this must be a dream. It has to be! But...everything feels so real..._

"Lyric!" a voice bellowed, startling her. It sounded like the voice of an elderly man, and he had a British accent.

"Who's Lyric?" Michelle mumbled to herself. Her voice sounded different, too – much sweeter, with the innocence of a child.

"Miss Lyric, please! You will be late for your class if you do not come here immediately!" the man demanded. "I understand that this is your first day here, and you are nervous, but you must go to class!"

_I guess...that's me? _she vaguely wondered. _Well, if this is a dream, I might as well play along..._

Cautiously, she pushed the bathroom door open and walked out of the room. Standing before her was a tall man, elderly man. He looked angry, but had a somewhat kind look on his face.

"I-I'm sorry, sir." she mumbled. Michelle noticed that there was something else wrong with her at the moment, as well – she was speaking Japanese, but her thoughts were in English. As far as she knew, she had never learned Japanese in school. Michelle had been taking French. _How am I speaking and understanding a language I never learned? _she wondered. _Whether or not this is a dream, that's still strange..._

"Miss Lyric, what was taking you so long?" he asked, pulling her from her thoughts. The man sounded livid and he, too, was speaking Japanese, but the thick English accent in his voice was still prevalent.

"I-I was...wondering where I was..." she responded in a timid voice.

"Ah, yes, I suppose you aren't used to being here just yet." he said in understanding as his eyes softened a bit. He held out his hand to her. "Well, please come along, Miss Lyric. Today, you will have a special visitor, and you must be prepared to meet him."

"A...visitor?" she asked softly, taking the old man's hand as he pulled her out of the room.

"Yes, a very important one." the man replied as they walked down the corridor. "He has been interested in meeting you ever since I told him about you. I know that you are very young, but please, try to act as mature and sophisticated as possible."

"O-okay, sir, I'll act as...um, sof-sophi–"

"Sophisticated." the man corrected.

"Fosisticated," Michelle said, still unable to properly pronounce the word. Was it due to her age? "I'll act as fosisticated as I can."

"Very good." he replied. He looked over down at her, a hint of worry in his eyes. "You...do you know why you are here, Miss Lyric?"

"No, I don't..." she told him, looking at the ground. "I'm a little scared, and I miss my mommy and my daddy...but they'll come back for me, right? And I'll be able to be with them again, right?"

The words spilled out of her mouth before she even realized that she was saying them. Why was she saying these things, as if they were true? After all, this was all just a dream...wasn't it? Even though everything was so real, and she could feel the warmth of the man's hand in hers, that was just the effect of a lucid dream...right?

The old man sighed, causing her train of thought to derail. "I'm afraid not, Lyric. Your mother and father...I'm afraid that I don't know where they are. Don't you remember how you were when I found you? You were by an orphanage, and you were crying..."

Images flashed before Michelle's eyes that perfectly matched that which the old man was telling her. She _had_ been by an orphanage – at least, that's what the building looked like from the outside – and she _had _been crying. But, why? Had something happened to her?

"However, you'll be fine now," the man assured her, "because you'll live with us." He smiled warmly, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"I'll be okay with you, mister, I just know it." she told him.

The man's smile widened a bit. "Yes, you will not be harmed here. And you may call me Wammy."

They continued down the hall until they reached a room at the very end of the corridor. "This is your classroom, Miss Lyric." Wammy explained. "Because this is your first day attending a class, I expect you to be on your best behavior. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Michelle replied. "I'll do my best."

"Very good." Wammy said. He pushed the door open, allowing Michelle to enter. Before she did, she asked, "When will my special visitor come?"

"After your class." he told her. "Now, do go in. If you are late on the first day, that will not be good for you."

Nodding, Michelle turned and walked inside the room, albeit a bit nervously. _I don't understand. This dream is so long, too long. After all, I AM dreaming__...right?_

_

* * *

_

The class went by without any events of particular interest. The most exciting thing to happen was that she was asked to introduce herself, and when she did, all she could say was that her name was Lyric and that she was really small. When asked her age, she paused before responding, "I don't know."

The rest of the class was dull to Michelle – she spent most of the time wondering who the special visitor would be. _This is the best lucid dream I've ever had. _Michelle thought. _But it's taking too long to __end._

She left the classroom when the bell rang and walked down the hall to where she assumed her room was. Each room had a name on it, and there were several strange ones that she saw on the doors. _Then again, _she thought, _Lyric isn't much better._

When she found what she assumed to be her room, due to the fact that it was the only door in the hall without a name on it, she pushed the door open and walked over to the bed, placing her newly-gotten school supplies on it.

_He said that the visitor would come after my class, so where is he? Maybe he lost interest?_

Michelle began to wonder who the visitor would be – a man, or a woman? Tall or short? Attractive or ugly? As the possibilities whirled through her mind – it could be a famous movie star or an athlete or a doctor – there was a knock on the door. It was soft and nearly inaudible, especially to one in deep thought, but Michelle managed to hear it.

"Come in," she called out softly.

The door opened, slowly at first, but eventually it opened all the way to reveal the one that had come to visit her. He was a boy – not a man, or a teenager, but a young boy – and he looked very strange, unlike anyone she'd ever seen. His hair was wild, as if it had never been brushed, and the clothing he wore hung loosely on his thin body. It looked to be two sizes too large. The most noticeable thing about him to Michelle, however, were his eyes. They still held the innocence and naivety of a child, but she could see in them that, although he was young, he had the wisdom of someone far older.

They stood gazing at each other for a few seconds, neither knowing what to say – and Michelle was too entranced by his eyes to bother trying to say anything – until the boy cleared his throat nervously.

"Are you the new child?" he asked quietly. He, like she and Wammy, spoke in Japanese.

"Ah...y-yes, I am." Michelle replied, holding out her hand to him. "I-I'm...um...I'm Lyric." _I guess I have to learn to answer to that name now._

He looked down at her hand in puzzlement at first, before slowly taking it in his and shaking it. _His hands are ice cold... _Michelle thought.

"You've no idea who I am, do you?" the boy inquired. Michelle shook her head vigorously – she had no clue.

"But that man – I mean, Wammy, he told me that I had a special visitor coming, and that I had to act mature and...so-sof-sofi–"

"Sophisticated?" the boy interjected.

"Y-yes, that's it. Fosisticated." she agreed, silently cursing at the fact that she was unable to pronounce the word. "I have to act fosisticated."

The boy chuckled lightly. "I'm afraid you aren't doing a very good job," he said bluntly. "I am your 'special visitor', as he put it."

Michelle blinked, taking in the information, before her cheeks became aflame with embarrassment. "O-oh, I'm-I'm so sorry! I've been acting so childish and not mature–"

"It's quite alright." the boy interrupted again. "You need not worry – at your age, immaturity is acceptable."

"Oh, okay..." Michelle replied, wondering how old she really was. "W-well, thank you for coming, mister..." Her voice trailed off, implying that she need something to refer to him as.

"L," he stated simply. "You may call me L."

"O-okay, L." she said, smiling a bit. "I-it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," L replied, looking around the room. It was still quite clean, despite the fact that such a young girl now occupied the space.

"L, can you tell me where we are?" Michelle asked. "It doesn't look familiar..."

"I am not surprised, considering how far you've come." L said. Michelle blinked in confusion. "How far I've come?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"

L glanced at her, a bit puzzled. "You don't remember anything before your coming here, Miss Lyric?" he inquired. When Michelle shook her head, he pressed a thumb to his lips. "How strange...well, I will tell you. According to Wammy, he found you wandering around an orphanage in Japan. The orphanage was full, and they could not take you in, so Wammy decided to take you himself. We are now in England."

"England...?" she repeated in disbelief. "B-but, Great Britain is so far away..."

"He flew you back on a plane." L explained. "And now you reside here."

"Wow...a plane..." Michelle mumbled, unable to keep the childish glee out of her quiet voice. Why was she so excited about going on a plane? She'd been on them before.

"I am surprised that you do not recollect any of this." L said. "Perhaps you have amnesia."

"Yes, maybe..." she agreed. "Or maybe I...oh, what's it called? I know it...I read it in a book...um...regressed memory? N-no, that's not it...oh! I remember! Maybe I repressed my memories!"

L looked at her curiously. She could read? But, judging by her inability to pronounce words, her height and her shyness, she had to be younger than five...but the book she'd read had spoken about repressed memories, and she'd understood what it meant. No book for a five year old – at least, not one that L had ever heard of – mentioned repressed memories or anything of the sort. This meant that she'd been reading books that were far, far more difficult than what she was supposed to comprehend, and yet she'd understood every word...

"...yes, he was right." L said out loud, although it was really meant for himself. "She will be a good successor..."

"Huh?" Michelle interrupted, tilting her head in confusion. "Succ...successor? F-for what?"

L didn't respond at first. He turned to walk out the door, but stopped before he could enter into the hall. "Should anything happen to me, and should B and A fail in their duties, you will be my next successor." he explained, looking over his shoulder at her. "Wammy told me that you would be a good successor for me, and he was right. You may be young, but you are already very intelligent, and that is a requirement."

He turned his head and made to leave. "Wait!" Michelle called out, halting his foot (which, she noticed, was covered by neither a shoe nor a sock) that had moved into the hall. "You-you speak so smartly, but y-you look so young...how old are you, L?"

"I am nine years old," he replied before disappearing into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Michelle went over to the bed and sat down, taking in all of the information that had just been given to her. Apparently, she was an orphan that lived in Japan, but was miraculously found by a man that worked at – or did he run it? – an orphanage in England. He brought her to this orphanage, where she met a boy that spoke and acted as if he were thirty, but was actually nine, and this boy told her that she would be his successor, should the two before her fail.

She inhaled deeply. _This IS a dream...right?_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Wow, this was long! I feel like Michelle's character got a little Mary-Sue at the end, so I tried to make up for it by having her re-evaluate her whole situation, to kind of make her seem separate from Lyric.**

**I've always wondered whether or not there was a third-in-line when B and A were at Wammy's House, like there was a third-in-line for Mello and Near. So, now Lyric/Michelle is the third successor! :D (And in order to keep the story going, I had to make her a successor somehow. XD) Anyhow, I hope you liked it! Please review!  
**


	3. Friends

**A/N: Sorry that it's taken me so long to update! This story is kinda hard to write, 'cause I didn't think everything through. XD Oh well, I still like it! Since this story is a bit more difficult to write, the updates will probably be slower. However, I'll try to make up for that by having longer chapters! Is that okay?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. D:**

**

* * *

**

"Speaking."/_"Speaking." _(The italicized speaking is only in one section of this chapter. It may come back in later chapters, depending on what I decide to do. I'll tell you when that time comes.)

_Thinking._

_The voice in Michelle's head._

* * *

After L disappeared from sight completely, Michelle had begun to feel as if everything that he'd told her about herself was true. She sat down on the bed as she tried to think over her current situation. _It's not possible, though, because the last thing I remember, I was an eighteen year old girl – no, woman, and I was going to sleep, same as always. So how did this happen? Is it really a dream?_

She ran her hand over the silken sheets on the bed where she sat. _No, these feel too real to be produced just by my mind...even in my most vivid dreams, I haven't been able to actually feel anything, aside from pain, and maybe the feeling of flight if I was lucky..._

Groaning, she flopped onto the bed, and looked up at the white ceiling. _At any rate, now I'm expected to become the successor to a boy I hardly know – and I don't even know what profession it's for, either. I barely know __**anything **__about this place, aside from its name and the fact that it's in England. Sure, I know that it's an orphanage, but why would I become the successor to a fellow orphan? Oh, this is all so confusing..._

Michelle blinked in surprise when she heard another knock at the door. Had L returned? "Ah...come in!" she called out softly as she sat up.

The door flew open, and L reappeared before Michelle...only, there was something _off _about him. Sure, he looked the same as before, but this boy was wearing a black shirt, and he had socks on. Why did L change his clothes?

"So, you're the new successor, huh?" the boy asked. "The third in line?" _On second thought, maybe it's not L... _Michelle thought. _L was the one who told me that I was a successor, so he wouldn't have asked about it again._

"Um...yes, that's me." Michelle replied, looking at him suspiciously. "Uh...wh-who are you?"

"I'm the first in line," the boy said, running his hands through his hair – that looked a lot like L's – and smirking. "They call me B here, but I would prefer it if you'd call me Beyond."

"O-okay," Michelle agreed, nodding.

"And what can I call you?" Beyond asked, crouching so that his eyes were level with hers. "Your hair is pretty dark, so should I call you my little raven?"

"You can if you want to..." she replied, twiddling her thumbs. "But my name is Mic–...um, I mean...my name is Lyric."

"Ah, that's the name you go by here." he said, nodding in understanding. Glancing at her, he said, "You know, for a successor, you look pretty young. How old are you, little raven?"

Michelle shrugged. "I dunno," she replied, "but I think they said that I'm four, or five..."

"Man, you're little." B whispered, mostly to himself. "They'll eat you alive here."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, little raven." Beyond stood up, and held his hand out to her. "I'll tell you what, Miss Lyric. I know that it's not fun to be in a place like this without a friend. Why don't I introduce you to my friend, A? You'll like him a lot, I'm certain."

"Um...okay, Be-Beyond..." Hesitantly, she took his offered hand, and walked close to him when he pulled her out of the room.

_This guy seems kind of dangerous...I should watch out for him. _Michelle thought.

_But he's being really nice to us, so we should be nice, too!_ a childish voice protested.

_...who said that? _she wondered as Beyond led her into a room with a sign above the door that read "B, A".

"Hey, Alec!" he called. "Look, I found someone for us to play with!"

"Oh, cool!" a voice called back. "I'll be right there."

A loud crashing sound followed, and Lyric instinctively hid behind B. Beyond patted her head comfortingly.

A few minutes after the sound had disappeared, a boy with short blonde hair and bright, violet colored eyes appeared before them. He was pretty tall, and was wearing a pair of baggy pajama pants and a loose shirt.

"Sorry about that. I dropped a bunch of my books when I was getting my toy off of that tall shelf," he explained. "So, who'd you– oh! A new kid!" The boy – who Michelle assumed was named Alec – smiled brightly and walked over to them. He stood in front of Michelle, and crouched so that his eyes were level with hers. "Hello, little one. Aren't you the cutest thing?" He made sure to emphasize his previous statement by ruffling her hair with his hand. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Mich– um...Lyric. I'm L-Lyric."

"Still aren't used to the new name, huh?" he inquired. When Michelle nodded in response, he gave another understanding smile. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it in time."

"This is Alec, little raven." Beyond explained to Michelle. "All of the adults call him A, but he doesn't care either way, so call him what you wish."

"O-okay." Lyric agreed.

She squealed in surprise when Alec lifted her into his arms. "I always feel worse for the kids who have to come here when they know what's going on. I think it's best to come as a baby, with a memento from your parents or something," he told Beyond, who nodded in agreement. Alec smiled down at her. "Still, she doesn't seem to have been too affected, so maybe she'll be okay."

"Don't get too comfortable with her." B warned. "She's the third successor in line."

Alec blinked in surprise. "You're joking, right?" When B shook his head, Alec frowned. "But she's so small...even though you and I have been here for years, since we were babies, we didn't become the successors until just last year."

"That's because he hadn't even become L yet, so there was no need for a successor at the time." Beyond replied, and Michelle vaguely wondered what he meant by "he hadn't become L". "I'm sure that our little raven here was just in the wrong place at the right time."

"For them," Alec added.

"Yeah." B agreed. "For them."

"U-um, excuse me?" Lyric interjected, tugging at Alec's sleeve. "Is it...is it scary here? Will I be okay?"

_What the hell? I didn't want to say anything to him!_

_Silly Miss Michelle! Of course you didn't! I did!_

_What in the hell is going on?_

"Yes, you'll be fine." Alec assured her, pulling Michelle from her reverie. He gently patted her head. "There are some mean people here, little raven, and they may want to hurt you, but as long as you stay with Beyond and I, we'll try our best to protect you."

_Why is everyone calling me "little raven"? _"R-really?"

"Really." B interrupted. "It'd be awful of us to just let you go on alone, especially being as young as you are."

"Are you guys way older than me? Like, this many?" Lyric inquired, holding up three fingers. "Or this many?" As she said this, she held up all ten of her fingers.

Alec chuckled. "No, we aren't that much older than you. I'm only eight."

"As am I," B agreed.

_And they're already speaking as if they're in their thirties... _Michelle thought. _What is this place, a childhood remover? They should be outside, playing with all those other kids!_

"Anyway, little raven, we have to study now." Beyond said, moving to take her from Alec.

"Nooo!" he cried, backing away from B with Lyric still in his arms. "I wanna play with Miss Lyric!"

Beyond sighed. "You know that Roger and Wammy will kill us if we don't study."

"W-Wammy?" Michelle interjected. "But, he seemed so nice before..."

"Oh, he's real nice." Alec assured her. "He just really wants us to succeed at whatever we do, so he makes us study a lot. He means well, but..."

"But he works us too hard." B added. "We never get time to play or read for fun or do anything that we like." He looked down at Michelle sadly. "Unfortunately, that'll be your future, too. Especially if you become the next L..." His voice trailed off, and his gaze traveled downward as the memory of what it was like being L flooded his mind. Oh, it was terrible...

"Beyond." Alec said in a serious tone that effectively derailed B's train of thought. "Don't tell her such things now. She's young, and she just got here. You shouldn't disillusion her from this place so quickly."

"She should be disillusioned. This place isn't as nice as it looks, and you know that. All this place is for is to generate the newest genius that'll replace L, and the rest of the lot can go to hell." Beyond said, his voice rising a bit. "They don't care about us, the only one they care about is L, and they barely give a damn about him!"

"_Beyond!_" Alec exclaimed sharply, cutting off B's rant. "Stop it, _now_. You know better than to say such things when you really know nothing! And look what you've done to Lyric!"

He held Lyric a bit closer as she trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. Beyond had terrified her with his yelling and rage, though that wasn't his intention.

_Wait, I'm CRYING? _Michelle wondered. _What the hell? I wasn't scared at all!_

_But he was scary!_ the voice from before replied. _And he was so loud..._

"Oh, damn..." B muttered. "I'm sorry, Lyric. I didn't mean to make you cry, I just..."

"You get too emotional about these things." Alec interjected, sighing. "She may be the third successor in line, but you have to remember that she's still just a baby, a baby that's too smart for her own good. Let her have her two or three years of childhood, Beyond. She's going to become very mature very fast anyhow."

"Just like the rest of us, right?" B said, giving a small, sad smile.

"Yeah." A agreed, the same expression as Beyond's on his face.

"Um..." Michelle mumbled, feeling a bit uncomfortable and out of place. "Don't you and B-Beyond have to study now, Alec?"

"Yeah, we do." he said, setting Michelle down on the ground. "But maybe we'll come play with you once we're done. What'll you do until then, little raven?"

"I might go outside and play with those other kids..." she told Alec, her voice trailing off a bit.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea..." B muttered. He knew that the children outside were extremely resentful of new kids, and they'd be even angrier with a new kid who was one of the "selected few", as they called it. "Are you sure you don't want to help us study or something?"

"I'll probably be a hin-hindr-hinder–"

"A hindrance?" Alec corrected. Lyric nodded.

"Yeah, that." she said. "I don't wanna bother you while you're trying to work..."

"Well, okay." B agreed. "But at least let me take you back to your room, just in case."

"Al-alright." Michelle agreed. Lyric raised her arms, silently asking to be carried, and Beyond lifted her into his arms.

"I'll be back in, like, five minutes." he told A. "If Roger or Wammy comes by before I get back, make up a lie for me. Tell them that I'm in the bathroom or something."

"Sure." A agreed. He smiled at Lyric as she waved goodbye, and he waved back. "Bye-bye, little raven."

B turned and left the room, Michelle in his arms, and he strolled down the hall. "You know, there are some really fun places here." he told her.

"Really?" she asked excitedly. "Like what?"

"Ah, that's a secret." Beyond said, chuckling when she started to pout. "Don't worry, little raven. The next time we get some free time, me and A will show them to you. Okay?"

"Okay!" Lyric agreed, nodding vigorously.

They soon arrived at her room, and Beyond set her down when they arrived at her bedroom. He crouched so that he was eye level with her, and ruffled her hair with his hand. "Be careful, okay, little raven?"

"Yes, sir!" she said in agreement, smiling up at him. She waved as he left, and once he had gone down the hall, she went over to her bed and flopped down, sighing heavily.

"When will this dream end? It's making me say and do things I don't want to do, and it's really too long for me..." Michelle whispered as she closed her eyes. Not soon after, was fast asleep. She slept peacefully, but a conflict raged inside her mind.

* * *

_Hey, Michelle, get up!_

"_Go away...I'm asleep..."_

_Hee hee! Silly Michelle, you can't sleep now! We have a little...**issue** to resolve._

"_Issue...?"_

Michelle rubbed her eyes sluggishly, and gasped in surprise when she saw that her fingers had not only elongated, but had reverted to the tan color they'd originally been.

"_No way...I finally woke up? Man, that was a really long dream..."_

_No, don't be silly! The dream has only just begun!_

"_What? Hey– who are you? And where am I?" _Michelle looked around frantically, but, aside from her own body, could see nothing but blackness.

"_Behind you, Miss Michelle."_

The voice had grown louder, and a bit more sinister, which made Michelle hesitate. However, against her better judgment, she turned around to face the owner of the voice – a black-haired, violet-eyed, pale-skinned girl.

"_Y-you're...me?" _Michelle asked, though her voice was barely above a whisper.

"_Wrong!" _the girl responded, giggling_. "I'm Lyric, silly! Though, we **will **be one in the same, soon. Michelle will become a part of Lyric, buried in the recesses of her mind..."_

"_NO!" _Michelle yelled. _"I won't let that happen! I have my own life...I-I need to go back to it!"_

"_But what do you care about your old life?" _Lyric inquired, twirling a strand of her hair around her index finger innocently._ "You hated every second of that boring life, didn't you? You wanted more **excitement**, did you not?"_

"_W-well, yes, but–"_

"_Then Miss Michelle is in for a real treat!"_ Lyric exclaimed as she floated – _floated_** –** over to Michelle._ "You see, this is nothing more than a story, Miss Michelle. I know everything that will happen to me – that will happen to **us –** when I get older. It will be very exciting, very fun. But, as the old saying goes, 'An eye for an eye'. In exchange for this super fun new life–"_

"–_I can't go back to mine." _Michelle interrupted as realization washed over her.

"_Bingo!" _Lyric exclaimed as she giggled and leapt upward to pat Michelle on her head (the height difference was that great). _"Miss Michelle might not be as smart as me, but she's still really smart!"_

Michelle scowled, but Lyric ignored this and continued on. _"Miss Michelle cannot come and go as she pleases, like in the books. She can only have one or the other. After all, this world was not **given **to Miss Michelle, no, she **created** it, and someone else made it real, just for you. And to create anything, especially when an anonymous person is doing the hardest part for you, you have to pay for the materials. Since you can't pay for a world built in the mind with money, you have to pay for it with something as valuable as the world you're creating. Normally, something small like your memories would do, but Miss Michelle was too thorough, too detailed with this world. Everything is exactly how you wanted it to be, with a few small things that you didn't want." _

As she said this, she flicked the strand of hair protruding from the top of her head, which she knew was one of the things that Michelle disliked. _"These small things were added to even out the payment a bit, but the expense was still too high to take just your memories. So **that guy **created Lyric and made me a being separate from Miss Michelle, and then he gave me a task. You'll be allowed to have your fun, but after a while, I am to take your life away from you, and to take over your body. You'll still be in existence, but you'll merely be a thought in the back of my mind. Nothing more, Miss Michelle."_

"_W-wait." _Michelle muttered, trying to take it all in._ "You mean...**I **created this place, and s-some guy made it a reality? Wh-who?" _

"_Yes, Miss Michelle made everything in this world, except for this empty space right here." _Lyric said, walking around on what appeared to be empty air against a black backdrop._ "This space was created so that I can talk to Miss Michelle, and so I can...**weaken** her moral, just a teeny bit." _As she said this, Lyric gave a smile that was uncharacteristically sinister, and the dangerous light that glinted in her eyes shined bright enough that it frightened Michelle. _"Also, I can't tell you who made this place real for you. It is very confusing, and mere words would only make the process even more confounding."_

"_Was it a god?"_

"_You could say that."_

"_Oh." _Michelle didn't really care about that, though. She had a different question, one that she _needed_ to ask. _"Why do you sometimes dominate my actions?" _she asked Lyric._ "The things that I say, the things that I do...sometimes, you even come into my thoughts. Why?"_

"_You'll have to get used to that, Miss Michelle." _Lyric said in a voice much deeper than the one she'd started with. This new voice sounded as if it was dripping with malice..._ "Eventually, I **will **overcome you. You will no longer be in control – I will. I am doing it to help you grow accustomed to the feeling of having your words, actions and thoughts become insignificant – soon, you won't even be able to say or do anything. All that you'll have to communicate are your thoughts, and all they will be is annoying, like a fly buzzing by my ears."_

"_And this...this is **that guy's **price f-for creating this world for me?"_

"_Yes, that's it. Kindness comes at a price, Miss Michelle. Everything does." _Lyric did a small twirl._ "But, he's not the only one that wants you gone."_

"_What?"_

"_I do, Miss Michelle. I want you to suffer the same fate that **I **did." _Lyric stopped twirling, and stared pointedly at Michelle, her voice still dripping with malice._ "Ever since you decided that your life was too boring, we've been working on creating this world for you, using the time that you slept as our construction time. You know how, on the nights when you didn't get enough sleep, but felt fine during the day, you'd fall asleep early and sleep the entire night through?"_

"_...yes..." _Michelle replied cautiously.

"_That was us putting you to sleep."_ Lyric admitted. _"We had to, so that we could finish the world before you did something drastic, like doing anything that could severely damage any part of your brain. Anything like that would've ruined the world we'd made. Your subconscious was there, Miss Michelle, directing us and describing everything you wanted and how you wanted it. It was terribly difficult, because you were so detailed, but we got it done. However, the **people** – and there were oh, so many people – the people were nowhere near done, and so they had to leave me in my 'room', to wait for all those people that **you **had ordered to be made."_

"_I had expressed my desire to be real so much that they had to **lock **me in there, to ensure that I wouldn't try to dominate you in your vulnerable state, and they wouldn't let me out. Once I take control of **my **body, Miss Michelle, the very same thing will happen to you. You will be locked in a room in the recesses of **my** mind, and you will be trapped there until you die."_

"_Or until you do," _Michelle added.

"_And even then, you will die along with me." _Lyric said._ "And don't try to get information out of me in sneaky ways like that. I won't tell you when I am to die. Remember that I am smarter than you, Miss Michelle. Never forget."_

Michelle frowned. _"For such a young girl, you are certainly very evil and arrogant."_

"_Arrogant? Evil?" _Lyric repeated, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger in innocence again (whether this innocence was feigned or real, Michelle could not tell). _"Don't be silly, Miss Michelle. This isn't evil. This is me trying to **survive**." _

"_If that's the case..." _Michelle muttered, going over to Lyric and bending over so that they were eye-to-eye. _"...if that's the case, then I will do whatever it takes for **me** to survive. I won't let you take control of my body, especially since you're just a thought that **my** mind created."_

"_You don't understand the magnitude of your situation," _Lyric said, giving a wide grin that was so calm it was frightening. _"I'm more than a thought now, Miss Michelle. Much more. Think of me as the voice that people who've gone mad claim to hear – the voice that drives the criminally insane to kill. I will control your every action, give you no opportunity to fight back, until one day, you will suddenly have no control over this body. The girl that's sleeping in bed right now is **me. **You've claimed this body, and I will let you have it for the time being. But, understand this, Miss Michelle – you **will **relinquish it to me, whether you do so of your own free will or not. After all, the guy who made this world real says that you have to! So you can't say no!"_

"_Can't I?" _ Michelle challenged._ "Well, what if I refuse to do so? As you said, I made the blueprints for this world – I'm the architect. What happens to it if I refuse to relinquish this body to you, and let you live **my** life in the world that **I **created for **me**?"_

"_It will fall apart," _Lyric replied, her grin widening_, "and you will forever be trapped in an empty space, just like this one, with your only company being me." _She stood on her toes as she moved toward Michelle's ear, and whispered,_ "Me, the one that wants to **end **you. If that happened, I would make what remained of your miserable life completely intolerable, and you'd be unable to kill yourself to end the suffering." _She giggled. _"Imagine that, Miss Michelle."_

Michelle gasped. _"You really __**are**__ evil..." _she muttered.

"_Maybe so," _Lyric agreed, _"but if I'm evil, I'm nothing compared to the people we're going to meet in the future."_

"_What? Who am I– I mean, who are **we** going to meet?" _Michelle inquired.

Lyric giggled. _"Well, let's just say this: I hope you like apples."_

_

* * *

_

Michelle had every intention of asking what the young girl meant, but before she could, she felt a powerful wind rushing past her, and suddenly, she could see nothing. The last thing she heard before waking up was Lyric's giggling, and her somewhat taunting calls of, _Goodbye, Miss Michelle, and good luck._

The minute her eyes snapped open and she saw that she had returned to the room of Lyric, the third in line successor, she quickly sat up and threw herself out of the bed. _This is dangerous, _she thought. _This is very dangerous. Nowhere is safe from her._

_You're completely correct, Miss Michelle!_Lyric's taunting voice responded. _You can't hide from me! Even your thoughts aren't safe from me!_

Michelle gave a small groan. Now that she knew about the dangers of the world she was now in – this dream world – she knew that she had to find a way out, and _soon_, or else she would lose her life to a dream – her dream.

_I won't let you win this._ Lyric told her. _You **will **die. You will die, so that I may live._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Wow, this chapter was intense! I hadn't originally intended for Mind-Lyric to be so _evil_, but then I realized that anyone, whether it be a person born naturally or a person born from the mind, is bound to be angry if their body is taken from them and dominated by someone else. So, I decided that, even though she's a four (or five) year old girl, she is actually quite evil and kind of sadistic, but only toward the source of her hatred – Michelle. (She's kind of a sociopath.) So, along with worrying about living at Wammy's House, Michelle also has to worry about keeping control of Lyric's body from Mind-Lyric, or else she becomes a thought herself. **

**In case anyone was confused, allow me to elaborate on the section after Michelle goes to sleep for you guys. When this happens, she is still in Lyric's body. The part where she and Mind-Lyric are talking to each other face-to-face takes place in an empty space in Michelle's mind. The reason that she and Mind-Lyric look different than each other in the mind space is because Michelle believes that she and Lyric _are_ different (so Michelle looks like her old self, and Mind-Lyric looks like Dream-Lyric), but if Mind-Lyric's little speech is anything to go by, Lyric and Michelle are slowly becoming one. Also, when Michelle wakes up, she still looks like Lyric. Think of it as a dream within a dream. (Yes, I did just make an Inception reference.) And as for the last line of that section ("I hope you like apples"), that was just some obvious foreshadowing. If you don't get it, you must have not watched Death Note.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Review, please, and thank you for reading!**


End file.
